Sexual Health

The HSE Sexual Health Crisis Pregnancy Programme (SHCPP) is a national programme with responsibility for implementing the National Sexual Health Strategy, Ireland’s first national framework for sexual health and wellbeing.

The strategy takes a life course approach, which is a key underpinning concept in the Healthy Ireland (HI) framework. It acknowledges the importance of developing a healthy attitude to sexuality throughout childhood and adolescence and builds on that foundation for positive sexual health and wellbeing into adulthood and older age through the following goals:

Goal 1

Sexual health promotion, education and prevention: Everyone living in Ireland will receive comprehensive and age appropriate sexual health education and/or information and will have access to appropriate prevention and promotion services.

Goal 2

Sexual health services: Equitable, accessible and high quality sexual health services that are targeted and tailored to need, will be available to everyone.

Goal 3

Sexual Health Intelligence: Robust and high quality sexual health information will be generated to underpin policy, practice, service planning and strategic monitoring.

The Programme also has 3 mandates laid down by Statutory Instrument in related to crisis pregnancy:

A reduction in the number of crisis pregnancies by the provision of education, advice and contraceptive services.

A reduction in the number of women with crisis pregnancies who opt for abortion by offering services and supports which make other options more attractive.

The provision of counselling services, medical services and such other health services for the purpose of providing support after crisis pregnancy, as may be deemed appropriate by the Programme.

All functions of the Programme (Clinical, Funding, Education and Information, Research and Policy, Administration) contribute to the development and implementation of projects that fulfill the National Sexual Health Strategic Goals and the crisis pregnancy mandates.